Unbroken Cord

For Christians, the Bible is the foundational text. With much of it written in an ancient Semitic language within another age and culture, this remarkable book originated well over three thousand years ago. With its origin separated from the twenty-first century by more than three millennia, it is no wonder that a measure of disconnection between its beginnings and the current generation developed over time. Specifically, many Christians find themselves devoid of even the most basic understanding of the Old Testament. And yet the first generation of believers in Jesus as Messiah, armed with only the scriptures found in their Hebrew Old Testament, turned the world upside down by winning thousands upon thousands of new converts to the Lord. In an effort to bridge that gap between past and present, it seems reasonable that a contemporary believer might benefit from a simple study tracing New Testament teachings to their origins as found in those first Hebrew scriptures. In doing so, it will become clear that there is, in fact, a seamless flow from Old to New Testament. Along the way, many heretofore vague or difficult to understand passages will begin to fall into place.

Luke 4:1–13. To begin, look at Luke’s introduction to Christ’s life on earth. The opening verses of Luke 4 give a glimpse into a scenario that took place immediately prior to the beginning of the Lord’s formal ministry. It can be seen here that the Holy Spirit intentionally led Jesus into the wilderness where He was then tempted by the devil. As the narrative unfolds, the enemy appears on the scene, and a contest ensues as scriptures from Deuteronomy 8:3, Deuteronomy 6:13, and Deuteronomy 6:16 are quoted. Three separate times Satan seeks to entrap the Lord with enticing propositions, and three separate times Jesus trumps His adversary’s intention by answering with a rebuttal that begins, “It is written.” Red letter editions of the New Testament will show Jesus’s part of the conversation printed in red ink. Yet the words from all three passages cited by the Lord are originally found written in the Torah—that historical Jewish document dictated to Moses during the fifteenth century BC. This means that Jesus wielded a spiritual sword forged from words straight from the ancient Hebrew text. Therefore, it was while dueling with words originating from scriptures written more than a thousand years before He was born that Jesus won this battle mentioned in the third Gospel of the New Testament.

Luke’s record of this confrontation, known as Christ’s temptation, is not the last time the Savior’s words are found to be traced back to the Hebrew scriptures. Three and a half years later, as He was hanging from the cross, Jesus was heard repeating phrases originating directly from David’s Psalm 22. During His earthly ministry, the Lord was consistent in explaining that He hadn’t come to do away with any of the Old Testament but rather to fulfill it. So Jesus was very clear that He was observant of the law that had been handed down by Moses. He was also a practicing Jew. And lest it be forgotten, the book of Revelation reveals that Jesus will return to earth as the lion of Judah. In addition, consider Paul’s teaching that Christians have been grafted into the promises of Abraham, a man who lived nearly two thousand years earlier than Paul. These and other examples of the archaic nature of the Bible present many with a challenge when connecting the Old Testament’s relevance to modern Christianity.

Jesus Christ. A starting point for reconciling this “disconnect” between Old and New Testaments can be found in the name of the Savior. For the Christian, Jesus is the most precious of names. As the only begotten and perfect Son of God, He was crucified for humanity’s sins, was raised from the dead on the third day, and is returning to earth as the victorious king of kings. He is the Christ in Christianity, the Savior and Son of God. Yet although the Hebrew scriptures foretold His birth, life, death, and resurrection, the title Jesus Christ is nowhere to be found in any of the books of the Old Testament. The astonishing reason for this is that Jesus Christ was not His first and last name. His mother was not Mary Christ or even Mrs. Christ. Translated into English, “Jesus Christ” is actually His name and title.

Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. The thing is, “Jesus” is the English language version of the Hebrew name Yeshua (there is no J in Hebrew). The name Yeshua is translated from the Hebrew word meaning “salvation.” Likewise, Christ is derived from the Greek word Cristos, meaning “anointed.” And “Christos” is the Greek translation of the original Hebrew word Mashiach. The meaning of Mashiach is, of course, “anointed.” Additionally, the Hebrew Mashiach has been further modified into its Anglicized version, Messiah. Thus, Jesus Christ literally translates to “Salvation the Anointed.” Another way of saying it would be, “Jesus, the Anointed One.”

Discovering the etymology of His name makes Matthew 1:21 come into clearer focus: “And you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” When seen from within the context of the original language, there can be no doubt about it; Jesus is the literal personification of the anointed salvation for the human race. His very name—in Hebrew—reveals the deeper levels of unfolding richness from God. And when sifting through the layers, a definite Jewish flavor begins to emerge as one delves into the roots of the Christian faith.